Hi folks. This Cayin SMP-PRO3N digital signage player is getting written-off at work and it's a curious piece of hardware so I'm wondering if I can make use of it.

The board is a cut-down version of the Liantec EMB-5830. The revision here does not include the PCI or mini-PCI slots or video-in and it has S-Video where the PS/2 ports should be. It does have the following:

- 256MB DDR RAM built in, with a slot to upgrade
- Compactflash interface with 512MB module installed
- 80GB 2.5" HDD
- 4x USB 2.0 ports plus a header on the board and fan headers, although these probably won't be needed
- 600MHz Celeron M CPU (512KB cache, 400MHZ FSB, 7W TDP i.e. passive cooling
- ICH4 southbridge
- 855GM northbridge with integrated Extreme Graphics 2
- Gigabit Ethernet
- AC'97 audio.

On paper the first thought would be NAS, but the storage options are too limited for that. Given it similarities to the spec of the original XBox, I'm thinking an emulation box would be the best choice for this, as there are a number of emulators available for Linux. I could run the OS off the flash drive (I've got a bigger, 1GB one at home) and keep the ROMs on the HDD. I don't think any kind of more intensive gaming application would be allowed. The only other alternative I can think of would be to use it as a LAN gaming server for something like UT or whatever. I would like to try and get XP running on it though, just for giggles.

I'll update when I've made it do something useful.